Purchases made through mobile devices rose 35.5 percent in June from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, as a growing number of South Koreans utilize smartphones to buy things ranging from clothes to electronic goods.

South Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world with one of the highest smartphone penetration rates. Eight out of 10 South Koreans use a smartphone, according to government data.


Mobile transactions through smartphones and tablets reached 3.75 trillion won ($3.3 billion) in June, compared to 2.77 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.

The total amount of mobile transactions accounted for 60.3 percent of all online purchases made in June.

Mobile purchases in South Korea have been on a steep rise for years as people are increasingly making greater use of their smart devices that have effectively become small computers.

Mobile bookings for travel and movie tickets rose 24.2 percent in June from a year earlier to 543.2 billion won, while sales of cosmetics increased 31.8 percent on-year to 336.5 billion won.

Sales of clothes surged 27.1 percent on-year to 417.8 billion won, while 379.9 billion won worth of electronic goods were sold through smartphones, up 42.8 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)